Foam in place composite one-piece hard/soft panel

ABSTRACT

In at least one embodiment, the present invention takes the form of a panel comprising a substrate, a cover layer, and foam disposed between at least a portion of the substrate and the cover layer. At least one of the cover layer or the substrate being is provided with an integrally formed member for sealing the cover layer to the substrate. The present invention also relates to a method for forming the panel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.10/430,642, filed May 6, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,991,841.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to motor vehicle interior parts and method ofmaking the same.

2. Background Art

Motor vehicle interiors have many interior components made of panels.Examples of these types of interior components include, but are notnecessarily limited to, interior door panels, instrument panel,consoles, other interior trim parts and seats.

The panels employed in these components typically comprise a relativelyhard, rigid substrate, a cover skin or layer, and a soft paddingdisposed between at least part of the substrate and the skin. The softpadding is typically foam. When foam is used, the panel is made byplacing the skin/cover layer in the mold in a spaced apart arrangement,and then introducing foam into the mold. The foam, upon curing, securesthe cover skin to the substrate.

A relatively common construction of these panels is to have thesubstrate have portions that are adjacent the face portion of the coverskin. This reduces the amount of cover skin that is required to be used.Often times the portion of the substrate that is adjacent the faceportion of the cover skin is provided with a higher quality surfacefinish (“A” surface) than the other surfaces of the substrate, sincethis portion will be exposed to the vehicle compartment interior. Duringtypical forming processes, foam tends to seep between the cover skin andthe substrate and, in these types of panels can cause unsightlyblemishes at the interface of the cover skin and substrate. A commontechnique for covering up these blemishes is to place a separate coveror trim piece over the interface, adding cost to the component. It wouldbe desirable to have a clean interface between the substrate and thecover layer/skin, thereby creating an “A” surface, i.e., theaesthetically pleasing surface visible to a vehicle occupant, withoutusing a separate cover. By a clean interface, it is meant that aninterface does not have any foam seepage.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a panel and a method formaking the panel that does not have noticeable foam seepage at theinterface of the cover layer and the substrate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In at least one embodiment, the present invention takes the form of apanel comprising a substrate, a cover layer and foam disposed between atleast a portion of the substrate and the cover layer. At least one ofthe cover layer or the substrate is provided with an integrally formedmember for sealing the cover layer against the substrate.

In at least another invention, the present invention takes the form of aprocess for making the panel comprising a substrate, a cover layer andfoam disposed between at least a portion of the substrate and the coverlayer. The process comprises providing a substrate and a cover layerhaving at least portions spaced apart to form a cavity. The processfurther comprises introducing foaming material into the cavity. Allowingthe foaming material to cure to form foam, to secure the cover layer andthe substrate to the foam. At least one of the cover layer or thesubstrate is provided with an integrally formed member for sealing thecover layer to the substrate during the curing step.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in greater detail in the followingway of example only and with reference to the attached drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a motor vehicle interior componentcomprising a substrate, foam, and a cover layer manufactured inaccordance with the present invention, with a portion of the cover layerbeing removed for illustration purposes;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross sectional view illustrating a manufacturingstep of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross sectional view of a portion of the panel ofone of the embodiments of the present invention during manufacture;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating the manufactured panelof FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 a is a view similar to FIG. 5 illustrating another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 b is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 7 a taken along line 7b;

FIG. 8 a is a view similar to FIG. 6 illustrating another embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 8 b is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 8 a taken along line 8b.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in variousand alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale, somefeatures may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particularcomponents. Therefore, specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as arepresentative basis for the claims and/or as a representative basis forteaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the presentinvention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a motor vehicle interior part, such as an instrumentpanel 10, made in accordance with the present invention. The panel 10comprises a rigid substrate 12 and a cover layer 16 disposed over atleast a portion of the substrate. The panel 10 has foam 18 that isdisposed between at least a portion of the substrate 12 and portions ofthe cover layer 16. An interface 14 is formed between the substrate 12and cover layer 16 creating a two-tone effect.

The substrate 12, the cover layer 16 and the foam 18 can be made of anysuitable material known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Suitableexamples of materials for making the substrate include, but are notnecessarily limited to, PP, PE, ABS, TPE, PC, PC/ABS, SMA and TPO. Thesubstrate 12 can be made by any suitable process such as injectionmolding or compression molding.

The cover layer 16 can be made by any suitable material and by anysuitable process known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Suitableexamples of materials that can be used to form the cover layer include,but are not necessarily limited to, TPO, PVC, urethane and TPE. Thecover layer 16 could be formed by spraying, injection molding, casting,vacuum forming, or other known methods to those of ordinary skill in theart. The foam is any suitable foam made from a foamable material, suchas polyurethane, that is known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The panel 10 is formed by a foam-in-place process. Any suitablefoam-in-place process can be used. One example is shown in FIG. 2, wherea molding tool 20 is illustrated.

The molding tool 20 includes an upper mold half 22 and a lower mold half24. At least one of the mold halves 22 and 24 is capable of axialmovement relative to the other mold half. This allows the insertion ofthe substrate 12 and the cover layer 16 into the molding tool 24. In atypical process, the cover layer 16 is placed upon the lower mold half24 while the substrate 12 is placed within the molding tool 20 spacedapart from the cover layer 16. While the mold halves 22 and 24 arespaced apart prior to molding, the substrate 12 and cover layer 16 aretypically held into place on their respective mold halves 22 and 24 byclips, hooks, or vacuum techniques which are known to those of ordinaryskill in the art, or by other suitable means known to those of ordinaryskill in the art. After the substrate layer 16 is in place, the moldhalves 22 and 24 are closed relative to each other. As can be shown inFIG. 2, the substrate 12 has a substrate facing portion 50 that abutsand extends between at least a portion of each of the mold halves 22 and24.

The molding tool 20 is configured to allow a foam dispenser 28 todispense foaming material 36 into cavity 26. Cavity 26 is the areadisposed between substrate 12 and cover layer 16. In certainembodiments, such as the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, thesubstrate 12 may be provided with an opening 14 to allow theintroduction of the foaming material 36 into cavity 26 when the moldhalves 22 and 24 are adjacent and abutting each other, i.e., when themolding tool 20 is closed.

Substrate 12 is provided with a substrate main body portion 42, that hasat least a substantial portion extending generally along one plane. Thesubstrate 12 has a substrate perimeter portion 44 that extends generallyalong a second plane, different from the first plane. A first connectorportion 46 connects the substrate main body portion 42 with thesubstrate perimeter portion 44. The substrate perimeter portion 44extends essentially perpendicular to the substrate main body portion 42,and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, preferably extends at an angle of lessthan about 90° relative to the substrate main body portion 42, morepreferably less than about 60°, even more preferably less than about30°, and preferably more than about 5°. However, it should be understoodthat substrate perimeter portion 44 may extend in different directionsand at different angles than those exemplarily shown in the figures.

The substrate facing portion 50 is exemplarily shown to extendessentially parallel to the substrate main body portion 42, but in aplane that is spaced apart from the first plane. However, it should beunderstood that the substrate facing portion 50 may extend in differentdirections and at different angles than those exemplarily shown in thefigures. The main body portion 42 of the substrate is the portion of thesubstrate that is essentially hidden from view when the panel 10 isdisposed in the interior of the vehicle.

Making reference to FIG. 2, the substrate main body portion 42 is theportion of the substrate that is abutting the upper mold half 22 of themolding tool 20. The substrate facing portion 50 of the substrate is theportion of the substrate 12 that is facing and exposed to the interiorof the vehicle compartment when the panel is disposed in the vehicle. Asecond connector portion 48 connects the substrate perimeter portion 44with the substrate facing portion 50. The substrate facing portion 50extends between and abuts, on opposite sides, both mold halves 22 and24. Since the substrate facing portion 50 has a facing surface portion52 that is exposed to the interior of the vehicle compartment duringuse, the facing surface portion 52 may have a better quality finish thanthe remainder of the substrate 12. For instance, the facing surfaceportion 52 may be textured or grained to provide a visually pleasing “A”surface.

As best shown in FIGS. 2–8 a, the cover layer 16 is provided with acover main body portion 30 and a cover perimeter portion 32.

The present invention provides a panel 10 and a molding process whichdoes not allow a noticeable amount of foam, and preferably any foam, toseep out between the cover layer 16 and the substrate 12 onto theinterface 14. To inhibit any escape of foaming material 36 or foam 18between the substrate 12 and the cover layer 16, at least one of thesubstrate or the cover layer is provided with structure to seal thecover layer 16 to the substrate 12. Exemplary embodiments will be shownand described below.

A first exemplary embodiment is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. As best shown inFIG. 3, the substrate perimeter portion 44 is provided with a pluralityof protrusions, such as teeth 60, extending about the perimeter portion44. While the illustrated embodiment shows a plurality of teeth, inother embodiments, fewer teeth, such as only one or two teeth, may beemployed with similar or acceptable results. When the foaming material36 is introduced into the cavity 26, the foaming material 36 fills thecavity and urges the perimeter portion 32 of the cover layer 16 againstthe perimeter portion 44 of the substrate 12.

Since the distal, or free end, of the perimeter portion 32 of the coverlayer 16 is positioned in the molding tool 20 above the remainder of thecover layer perimeter portion 32 and the cover main body portion 30, asthe foaming material 36 fills the cavity 26, the foaming material 36will typically fill the lower portions of the cavity first, thus firsturging the perimeter portion 32 of the cover layer 16 against thesubstrate perimeter portion 44 at a location closer to the secondconnector portion 48 of the substrate 12 than the first connectorportion 46. As the cavity 26 fills with foaming material 36, thepressure from the foaming material then urging the remainder of thecover perimeter portion 32 towards the substrate perimeter portion 44until the distal end of the cover layer perimeter portion 32 is urgedtowards the substrate perimeter portion. This will typically have theeffect of the foaming material 36 causing the portion of the coverperimeter portion 32 relatively adjacent the cover main body portion tocontact the perimeter portion 44 of the substrate 12 first with thedistal end of the cover perimeter portion 32 contacting the substrateperimeter portion 44 last.

The pressure exerted by the foaming material 36 and the subsequentlycuring foam 18 is sufficient to cause the perimeter portion 32 of thecover layer 16 to fill in the spaces around the protrusions or teeth 60of the substrate 12. This causes the teeth 60 to bite into the coverlayer 16. This acts to provide a seal between the cover layer 16 and thesubstrate 12, i.e., a foam shutoff, to inhibit the foaming material 36or cured foam 18 from escaping between the cover layer and thesubstrate. This allows for a clean interface 14 between the substrate 12and the cover layer 16 so that the panel 10 can be used in the interiorof a vehicle without having a separate cover or trim piece disposed overthe interface of the cover layer 16 and the substrate 12. This reducescomplexity and cost of the panel 10 and the process used to make thepanel.

In an alternative embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the perimeterportion 32 of the cover layer 16 is provided with a plurality ofprotrusions of teeth 70 extending about the perimeter portion 32 so thatthe teeth will push against the perimeter portion 44 of the substrate 12to provide a series of seals formed as a result of the foaming process.As with the previous embodiment, fewer or more protrusions could beemployed than that illustrated herein.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7 a–b and 8 a–b, the perimeterportion 32 of the cover layer 16 is provided with a notch 80, extendingabout the perimeter portion 32, that faces the perimeter portion 44 ofsubstrate 12. The notch 80 is formed at any suitable preformed angle andis preferably shown to be at about a 35° angle. However, in otherembodiments, notch 80 may have an angle of about 5–180°, and in yetother embodiments, of about 10–45°. Adjacent the notch 80 is a sealingsurface 82 angled with respect to front and rear surfaces 84 and 86,respectively, of the cover layer 16. The sealing surface 82 can beangled at any suitable angle and is preferably shown to be at about a30° angle relative to the front surface 84 of the cover layer 16,however, can preferably be at about a 1–60° angle, or more preferablyabout a 5–45° angle.

During the foaming process, when the foaming material 36 exerts pressureon the distal end of the cover perimeter portion 32, the distal end isurged towards the portion of the cover layer opposite the notch 80. Thispressure urges the distal end of the perimeter portion 32 of the coverlayer 16 against the substrate to form a seal between the substrate 12and the cover layer 16. The seal is formed because the notch 80 acts asa hinge to allow the distal end of the cover perimeter portion 32 tobend into the notch 80 and the remainder portion of the cover perimeterportion 32. In doing so, the notch 80 is closed to a second angle,smaller than the performed angle that is schematically represented inFIGS. 7 a and 7 b. The angle of the notch when in the closed position ispreferably 0–40°, and more preferably 1–30°. Also in doing so, at leasta substantial portion, and preferably most or all of the sealing surface82 is allowed to abut against the substrate perimeter portion 44, andlies substantially in the same plane as the inner surface of substrateperimeter portion, when the notch 80 is moved to the closed position.The bent in distal end cooperates with the substrate 12 to inhibit theflow of foaming material 36 or foam 18 past the distal end towards thenotch. As shown in the figures, the distal end could have an essentiallytriangular shape, however it should be understood that the distal endcould have other shapes such as rectangular or trapezoidal.

While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described,it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe allpossible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in thespecification are words of description rather than limitation, and it isunderstood that various changes may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention. For instance, while teeth have beenillustrated to show the protrusions, it is readily contemplated thatother shapes, such as, but not necessarily limited to, bumps, bars,ribs, or other trapezoidal shapes, could be used either instead of orwith the teeth illustrated in the figures. Moreover, the notch shown inFIGS. 7 a–b and 8 a–b could be used in connection with at least one ofthe protrusions shown in FIGS. 3–6. Furthermore, the protrusions, whileillustrated as being on one or the other of the cover layer or thesubstrate, could be on both, either with or without the notch formedinto the perimeter portion of the cover layer.

1. The method of making a panel for use in a vehicle interior, themethod comprising: providing a cover layer; providing a substrate spacedapart from the cover layer to form a cavity between the cover layer andthe substrate; and providing foaming material into the cavity, whichupon curing, forms foam between at least a portion of the substrate andthe cover layer, wherein the cover layer comprises a perimeter portionhaving at least one preformed notch at its distal, the notch configuredto enable the distal end of the cover layer to pivot towards theremainder of the cover layer as foam forms between the substrate and thecover layer.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein, during the providingfoaming material step, the notch allows the distal end of the coverlayer to pivot towards the remainder of the cover layer and exertpressure against the substrate to seal the cover layer against thesubstrate.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein, during the providingfoaming material step, the distal end of the cover layer pivots towardsthe remainder of the cover layer and exert pressure against thesubstrate to seal the cover layer against the substrate.
 4. The methodof claim 1 wherein the notch extends completely about the perimeterportion.
 5. The method of claim 3 wherein none of the foam is presentwhere the perimeter portion of the cover layer exerts pressure againstthe substrate such that no foam is disposed between the perimeterportion of the cover and the substrate.
 6. The method of claim 1 whereinthe perimeter portion comprises a generally planar inner surface spacedfrom a generally planar outer surface, the inner and outer surfacesextending substantially parallel to each other, the notch comprising twoopposed angled surfaces extending from the outer surface towards theinner surface.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprisesa main body portion, a facing portion substantially parallel to andspaced from the main body portion, and a connector portion extendingbetween the main body portion and the facing portion, at least amajority of the foam being disposed between the cover layer and the mainbody portion of the substrate such that the facing portion of thesubstrate is generally in the same plane as the cover layer and isexposed to the vehicle interior.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein thesubstrate has an opening closed by the cover layer.
 9. The panel ofclaim 8 wherein the substrate has a facing surface portion adjacent theopening.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the substrate facing surfaceportion has a grained texture.
 11. The method of claim 7 wherein thefacing portion has a grained texture.
 12. The method of claim 1 whereinthe notch has an angle of 5°–180°.
 13. The method of claim 1 wherein thenotch an angle of 10°–45°.
 14. The method of making a panel for use in avehicle interior, the method comprising: providing a cover layer havinga main body portion and a perimeter portion, the perimeter portionhaving a distal end having a preformed notch; providing a substratespaced apart from the cover layer to form a cavity between the coverlayer and the substrate, the substrate having a main body substrateportion and a perimeter substrate portion; and providing foamingmaterial into the cavity, which upon curing, forms foam between at leasta portion of the substrate and the cover layer, wherein the notch allowsthe distal end of the cover layer to pivot towards the remainder of thecover layer and exert pressure against the substrate to seal the coverlayer against the substrate.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein none ofthe foam is present where the perimeter portion of the cover layerexerts pressure against the substrate such that no foam is disposedbetween the perimeter portion of the cover and the substrate.
 16. Themethod of claim 14 wherein the perimeter portion comprises an innersurface spaced from an outer surface, the inner and outer surfacesextending substantially parallel to each other, the notch comprising twoopposed angled surfaces extending from the outer surface towards theinner surface.
 17. The method of claim 14 wherein the substratecomprises a main body portion, a facing portion substantially parallelto and spaced from the main body portion, and a connector portionextending between the main body portion and the facing portion, amajority of the foam being disposed between the cover layer and the mainbody portion of the substrate such that the facing portion of thesubstrate is generally in the same plane as the cover layer and isexposed to the vehicle interior.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein thefacing portion has a grained texture.
 19. The method of claim 14 whereinthe notch an angle of 10°–45°.
 20. The method of making a panel for usein a vehicle interior, the method comprising: providing a cover layerhaving a perimeter portion having a notch; providing a substrate spacedapart from the cover layer to form a cavity between the cover layer andthe substrate; and providing foaming material into the cavity, whichupon curing, forms foam between at least a portion of the substrate andthe cover layer, wherein the notch is closeable to allow the perimeterportion to exert pressure against the substrate to seal the cover layeragainst the substrate.